One Day at a Time
by otp-fandomfeels
Summary: This story follows Marina as she tries to get over Eight's death. Set after The Fall of Five. This story will have a few parts. Nine/Marina friendship. Rated T for some swearing(mostly by Nine).
1. Happy Day

**This is set after The Fall of Five. Trigger-warning, attempted suicide. If that will upset you, please don't read this. Otherwise, Enjoy!**

* * *

Nine's POV

I roll over and look at the clock, 6:00 A.M. I am glad that I got a few hours of sleep. I also know that I'm not going to get anymore. I throw on some clothes and head towards the kitchen.

We went to one of John's old houses to stay until we come up with a plan. Once I enter the kitchen I freeze. Marina is up and moving around making breakfast, and she is humming. Marina is usually the last one to get out of bed.

Marina turns around and says, "Hey Nine."

I say, "Um…Hey, Marina."

She smiles at me and turns back around to the stove. I haven't seen Marina smile since Eight was around. I walk towards the counter and lean against it, studying her. She resumed humming and seems to be making scrambled eggs and pancakes.

I ask her, "Do you need any help?"

She says, "You can set the table."

I do as I'm told and set plates around the table for everybody. I also give everyone a cup and utensils. I put out the syrup, butter, milk, and orange juice.

Sam and Six walk into the kitchen and Marina says, "Breakfasts will be ready in a bit, you guys can sit down if you'd like."

Six shoots me a questioning look as she moves towards the table. I shrug my shoulders and we both sit down. Sam says, "I'll get the others up."

Marina brings the scrambled eggs to the table and sets them down. She smiles at Six and me and we smile back. She turns around and starts putting the pancakes on a plate.

John and Sarah walk through into the kitchen and sit down. Marina turns around just as Adam, Sam, and Malcolm all walk in. Everybody freezes. Marina has been ice cold to Adam since we met up with him. Adam smiles at Marina and says, "Good morning."

Marina smiles back and says, "Good morning. I hope you guys like your eggs scrambled."

I let out a breath I was holding in. Marina sets the pancakes on the table, and everybody else sits down. I dig in first. We have an actual conversation, not about the war, about anything else, really.

Marina even joins in every once and awhile. For the most part, she just sits back watching the rest of us. I keep glancing over at her, and she looks happy, at peace.

Adam offers to clean off the table, and Sarah does the dishes. We all go back to our rooms to get ready for the day.

Once I showered and changed into comfortable training clothes, I walk down the hall. I knock on Six's door. She opens the door and asks, "What is it?"

I ask her, "Can we talk?"

She opens her door and I walk in. She closes the door and sits on the bed. I cross my arms and say, "I'm worried about Marina."

Six crosses her legs and puts her hands in her lap. She says, "Nine, she was smiling today. I don't think we should meddle with anything. If she is finally moving on, then I say we let her."

I sigh. Something about this doesn't feel right. I say, "I want more than anything in the world for Marina to move on, but I don't think she just woke up today wasn't sad anymore."

Six sighs and says, "I don't know. Maybe she is doing that fake it until you make it thing. Maybe if she pretends to be happy, after a while she won't be pretending anymore."

I look at Six and say, "I think you should talk to her."

Six says, "I don't want to say anything that will ruin her good mood, though." I shoot her a hard look and she says, "Fine I'll try to subtly find out what's going on with her."

I say, "Thank you."

I let myself out of Six's room. In the hallway I see Marina. She smiles and wiggles her eyebrows. I look at her confused, then I realize.

I say, "Marina, it isn't what it looks like, we were just-"

Marina holds her hand up and says, "If you two are happy, then I won't judge." She leans closer to me and whispers, "I don't know how Sam is going to take it, though."

I say, "No, I was just, uh, asking Six if she wanted to train with me later, she said no."

Marina says, "I'll train with you later, Nine. Right now, I'm going to hang out with Adam, Malcolm, and Sam. I want to see if I can learn a thing or two about what it is they actually do."

I smile and she smiles back. She walks past me. I turn around and watch her walk away. Maybe she is faking being happy. I really hope that Six is right and she won't have to fake it anymore.

I need to clear my head. I put on my tennis shoes and head out the door. We are right next to a lake, so I decide to run around it.

There isn't always a path to run on, so I have to run on the uneven ground. That's good, though, I need to be able to still be fast on this kind of terrain. I know I can go faster, but I don't want to draw attention to us. John said the Mog's never found this place, so it should be safe for now.

I think about Marina. She seems to be on my mind a lot today. I feel guilty, if it wasn't for me Eight would be here and Marina would be happy. I miss Eight, too. I wish I could talk to Marina about it, but I don't want to upset her more.

I can see through her facade. When she smiles, her eyes don't light up like they used to. She may be able to fool the others, but I know something's wrong.

I remind myself that Six is going to try to talk to her. Hopefully, she can find out what's wrong so we can find a way to help her. I just want Marina's eyes to light up again.

I slow to a walk as I make it back to the house. I didn't even break a sweat. I walk inside the house. I decide that I should check up on Marina.

I walk into Adam's room. They are using it as their little place to do all the techy stuff. When the door opens, all the heads in the room turn to me.

Only three heads, though. I quickly ask them, "Where is Marina?"

Sam says, "She went to lunch with John and Sarah."

I try not to make it obvious as I let out a shaky breath. I walk out of there and go to the training room. I start punching the punching bag. I clear my head and focus on my punches.

* * *

After a while of training, I walk down the hallway towards my room. I see Six walking towards her room. I run up to her and ask her, "Did you talk to Marina?"

She says, "Yeah, we talked a lot."

I shoot her a questioning look and she says, "She asked if I wanted to watch a movie with her and I said yes. We ended up not watching the movie and talking the whole time."

When Six looks like she isn't going to continue I ask her, "What did you guys talk about?"

She says, "We talked about Eight. She said she realized that he would want her to be happy."

With that, Six walks into her room and closes the door. I turn around to walk into my room, and I see Marina at the end of the hallway. She smiles when she sees me. I smile back. She runs up to me and asks, "Do you want to train now?"

No, I don't. I just got back from training, but maybe I can figure out what's going on with her. I don't believe what she said to Six, I think she was just trying to get Six off her back. I say, "Sure."

We walk towards the training room and she asks, "Are we going to use legacies or not?"

I say, "Let's not, in case Setrakus Ra decides to pull that crap where he takes them away again."

She nods and says, "I'm ready when you are."

I charge towards her, but she dives to the side. She lunges at my legs and tackles me to the ground. I move my legs so they are wrapped around her head.

I sit up and grab her face in my hands. I say, "Then I snap your neck, and you're dead."

I release her and she says, "This sucks. I am such a bad fighter."

We are both sitting on the floor. I say, "You might not be the best fighter on the team, but you are really good at other things. You can heal people. I know we wouldn't be as strong if it wasn't for you." She smiles and pulls her knees up to her chest. I continue, "Don't even get me started on that bad-ass ice legacy."

She laughs, and actual laugh. I join in. We are both laughing. It wasn't even that funny, but I just love seeing her so happy.

She says, "Thanks for everything, Nine. I think I'm going to go lay down, I've had a pretty eventful day today. I don't blame you for Eight's death."

My head snaps up and I see a few tears in her eyes. She says, "I want you to remember that."

She quickly stands up and walks away. I think about everything that's happened today. Marina hung out with everybody, she smiled and was happy for a bit there. She told me she forgives me, and she wants me to remember that. Why would sh- oh shit. Oh no.

I realize it the exact moment Ella comes into my head. She says, _Nine! You need to find Marina! She told me she is never going to see me again and I'm scared._

I rush up and run to Marina's room. She isn't there. I think for a second the I use my super speed to get onto the roof. I see Marina with her arms outstretched. She lifts her foot up. I shout, "No!"

I run up to her and grab her by the waist, pulling her back. I hear Ella say, _Nine, do you have her, is she okay?_

Marina looks at me wildly and asks me, "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"

I tell Ella, _I got her._

I say to Marina, "Is that why you were so happy today, because you knew it was your last day?"

Ella says, _Thank you, Nine._

She has tears running down her face and screams, "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I'M SAD ALL THE TIME, NINE!"

I say harshly, "You were just going to leave? Before we saved Ella? She needs you, Marina. We all need you, I need you."

She looks at me and asks, "What am I supposed to do?"

I say, more calmly, "You put everything you have into defeating the Mogs. You train until you forget who you are, that's how I deal. I imagine the day when I have killed the last Mog. After that, I don't know what I'll do."

Marina asks, "How do you sleep at night?"

I tell her, "I only sleep when I am so tired I pass out, and it's only usually for a few hours."

She nods and I ask, "Are you going to try to kill yourself again?"

She says, "I won't today."

I'll take it. We'll just have to take this one day at a time.


	2. Something to Live For

Nine's POV

She paces. Back and forth. Back and forth. I look up from my spot on the floor of the roof to her and say, "You need to relax, Marina." I'm worried she'll freak out at me, but I just need to take it. If she can let some of her negative energy out on me, then maybe she won't let it out on anyone else, or herself.

She shouts at me, "How am I supposed to relax Nine? Yesterday, you told me to find something to live for, and I did. I'm going to kill all the mogs I can." She picks up her speed.

I shake my head and say, "Let's find a better thing to live for."

"What?", she asks me, "What am I supposed to live for?"

I shrug my shoulders and say, "It doesn't have to be a something, it could be a someone." Me, you could live for me.

She stops her pacing and whispers, "Ella." That works, too.

I ask, "So you won't kill yourself as long as Ella's okay, right?"

Marina says, "Let's just get Ella back, then we'll just have to see."

I sigh, I at least have until we save Ella to know she'll be okay. Marina looks at me and gets scared all of a sudden and stops pacing. I stand up and walk over to her. I grab her folded hands with mine and hold on tight so she can't go anywhere.

I ask her, "What is it, Marina?"

She asks me quietly, "Did you tell anybody about what happened on the roof yesterday?"

I shake my head and say, "I can tell them if you want me to."

Marina shakes her head and says, "Please don't."

I nod and say, "I won't."

"Promise me you won't tell anyone, not even Ella."

"I promise.", I say.

Marina lets out a breath and I release her hands. I say, "For now, go find something to take your mind off of everything, I'll go see if I can find Johnny and make a plan to go save Ella, alright?"

Marina nods and says, "Thanks."

She walks away from me and I stand there for a minute, admiring the view. It isn't as nice as Chicago, but this small town will have to do.

I walk into the house and try to find Four. I see him in the living room with Sarah, watching a movie. I push his feet off of the foot stool and sit down right in front of him.

I say, "Hello Sarah."

She says, "I'm going to go get ready for bed."

I say to John, "So I've been thinking, and I think that we need to get Ella back ASAP."

He takes the remote and turns the tv off. He asks, "Where's this coming from Nine?"

I say, "Doesn't matter, point is, I think it would be best for all of us if we had her back."

He nods and says, "Uh huh, so none of this has to do with Marina, this is all coming from you?"

I nod and say, "Yes sir.", I throw in a salute for good measure.

He asks, "How do you plan we accomplish that?" I open my mouth to speak and he holds up a finger and says, "Let me stop you right there. First off, no, we can't get into space to get her, which is where she is. Second, we have to wait until they land to get her. Third, I don't think we can exactly storm a ship full of mogs and Setrakus Ra, we just aren't ready for it."

I say, "You didn't let me finish. As I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted was that I think we should wait until they land, and sneak in with some of that invisibility Six has got."

"I don't think so.", Adam says, appearing out of nowhere.

"And why not?", I ask him.

"Well," he starts, "there is a force-field around the ship so that no outside forces can enter, including loric."

I sigh and ask him, "How did they get Ella in there, genius?"

He rolls his eyes at me and says, "They disabled the force field probably. So, unless you can get passed that, you'll have to wait until they take Ella off the ship."

* * *

Marina's POV

I clean. I do laundry, wash dishes, sweep the floor, mop the floor, fold laundry, put dishes away, and dust. There is a lot of dust in this house.

Dusting gets boring after a while, and I go to find Nine to ask him what John said. I head into the kitchen and find Six. She asks, "What's up Marina?"

I shrug and say, "Nothing much."

She picks her face up from her food and asks, "Everything okay?"

I sigh and sit down. I say, "It's just I really want Ella back."

Six says, "Well we definitely have to do something about that."

I say, "It's hard enough with Eight, I just want to know that Ella's okay and safe. I want her here."

Six nods and says, "I'll do everything in my power to get her back, I promise."

This is where it gets hard. It's hard to decipher what people would have done for me in the past, and what they do now because of Eight's death. I think Six would have helped me get Ella back no matter what, Six cares about her too.

I smile and say, "Thanks, Six." She nods to me and I get up to go to bed. As I walk through the living room I notice Adam, John, and Nine are all talking. None of them notice that I've entered the room.

I walk over a little closer to them, so I can hear what they are talking about in hushed voices.

Nine says, "No way, absolutely no way, I won't allow it."

Adam shakes his head and says, "It's the only thing I can think of."

John says, "I hate that it has to come to this Nine, but I think it could work."

"What could work?", I ask them. They all jump and turn to look at me.

Nine says, "Nothing, these two idiots thought they came up with an idea to save Ella, and it won't work."

I say, "Well I would at least like to hear it."

Nine shakes his head and says, "Trust me, Marina, you don't."

I sit down on the couch and say, "I'm all ears."

Nine rolls his eyes and takes a few steps away. Adam explains to me, "We can't get to Ella because there is a force field around the ship she's on. Also, Setrakus Ra is most likely on that ship."

I ask him, "So what's the idea to get her off the ship?"

"Don't say it.", Nine warns John.

John says anyways, "We thought we could contact Five on the inside and see if he's willing to help us disable the shields."

The air gets colder, but I hardly notice. Everyone froze to wait and see my reaction. I want to destroy Five, but I know he could help us get Ella out.

I stand up and say, "Well, tell me if you can get through to him."

I walk out of the room towards my bedroom and try not to show any emotion on my face as I do so. I go into my room and shut my door. I sit on my bed and pull my knees to my chest.

Then, I let it all out.

I cry because Setrakus has Ella. I cry because we have to turn to Five for help. I cry because Nine has been the only one to reach out to me. Most of all, I cry because Eight's dead.

The door opens and I don't even look up. I keep my head buried in my knees and continue crying. The door closes and I know someone is coming over here, but I don't care.

I feel someone sit down beside and arms wrap around me. I can tell who they belong to. I am a bit surprised, I didn't expect him.

I lift my head up and look into John's eyes. His eyes are sad, although I'm sure they aren't as sad as mine. When he sees me it's like he gets sadder.

He says, "Marina, I know that we shouldn't be working with Five, but it's for Ella's safety. We want to do what we can to get her back, but this seems to be our only option."

I ask him, "How did they even take her in the first place?"

"Well," he starts, "I had to make a choice."

"What kind of choice?", I ask him.

"It was either save Ella or heal Malcolm."

"What?", I ask, quickly standing from the bed.

"I knew we could get Ella back, but I didn't think Malcolm was going to make it if I didn't heal him."

I walk towards the door and say, "Stay away from me, I can't do this right now."

John just nods and stays on my bed; he lets me walk out of my room. I don't know where to go. I can't go back to the roof, or else I'll get too tempted. I want to go somewhere quickly in case John comes out of my room soon. I hear him move, and I quickly go into the room next to mine.

I shut the door and press my back against the wall. I slide down it and just sit there. I can't cry anymore tonight. I lean my head against the wall and close my eyes.

Eight appears in front of me and I snap my eyes open, he is gone. I look around, and I don't see anything out of place. I slowly close my eyes, and he is there again.

I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling, why am I seeing Eight? I don't think I'll ever move on while I'm seeing him.

I close my eyes again, I'm ready this time. I look at him and he says, "Marina I'm worried about you, you need to get some sleep."

He sits down next to me and puts his arms around me, and I can actually feel them. I don't open my eyes, I don't want this to end. I put my head on his shoulder and try to fall asleep. I know he isn't actually here, I'm probably just hallucinating from the lack of sleep, but at the moment, I don't care.

* * *

Nine's POV

When Marina leaves, so does Adam. He says he's going to try to communicate with Five through morse code and hacking into, I don't know.

I use my super-hearing to check on Marina, and I can hear that she's crying. I say to John, "Good job John, now you made Marina cry, as if she hasn't already had enough to cry about."

John's eyes get sad, and I can tell he's feeling guilty. I turn to go comfort her, but John grabs my arm. He says, "Let me."

"Why?", I ask him.

"Well," he says, "I know you have been helping her out, and I don't want her to think you're the only one who cares about her."

I nod and let John go, I'm not that good at emotional stuff anyways. I hear John go upstairs, and I stop using my super-hearing, I don't want to intrude.

I go into the kitchen and make myself a sandwich. I'm almost done with my sandwich when John walks in.

He looks defeated. I smile and say, "Have you finally found something you can't do?"

He throws his hands up in the air and says, "I don't know. I don't know how to comfort people, I'd rather go around giving them orders."

I shake my head and say, "You can't be good at everything Johnny."

I lay my sandwich back on its plate, I know I'm probably not going to be able to finish this sandwich tonight. I wipe my hands on a towel and John raises an eyebrow at me. He asks, "What are you doing?"

I walk out and say over my shoulder, "Cleaning up your mess as usual."

I hear John let out a little laugh as I walk up the stairs. I go into Marina's room, but she isn't there. My heart immediately begins to pound faster as I wonder if she's on the roof again. I use my super speed to get up there, but she isn't there either.

No. Please let her not be there.

I prepare myself for the worst as I look over the edge of the building. I let out a sigh of relief when I don't see her dead body at the bottom.

I focus my hearing. I tune out everyone else I hear, and I just try to find Marina. I hear her steady breathing and I start to get closer so I can find her easier. Once I'm back in the hallway I realize, she's in my room.

I open my door and see that she's asleep with her back against my wall. I contemplate waking her up, but she probably hasn't been getting much sleep lately. She doesn't look very comfortable against the wall, so I pick her up and set her on my bed. I cover her up with the comforter.

Her eyes are red from crying, but she still looks peaceful. I sit down in the chair beside the bed and lean back. She probably wouldn't appreciate it very much if we slept in the same bed. I close my eyes and let sleep take over.


	3. Something to Die For

**I'm thinking this story will have five parts, so just two more after this! Please let me know what you guys think of my story:)**

* * *

Adam's POV

One week and five days was all it took me to get into contact with Five. Another four days to convince him to help us. He told me they would land in San Francisco in two weeks.

When I knew for sure Five would help us, I told the others, starting with John. We immediately may or may not have stolen a short bus to get to San Francisco.

With one week and six days left, we were still on the short bus. It was relatively quiet except for John and Nine, who were trying to strategize. John brought up the point that Five could be trapping us. Marina shook her head and said, "Five may be a traitor, but he isn't stupid enough to betray us twice."

John looked at me and said, "You are the one who talked to him, do you think he's setting us up?"

"I couldn't tell you for sure," I said, "but even if he is, I think we can take him."

With one week and five days left, we arrived in San Francisco. We found an abandoned house to lay low in until the Mogs arrived.

With one week and three days left, Marina announced that she was going to go scout out the town, except I was the only person in the room when she announced it. I'm not a big one on feelings, but I know how it is to have a loved one dead, so I sympathize with her, just a little, though.

I followed her, knowing it's what One would've wanted me to do. I watched as she went to a grocery store, of all places. She headed straight for the candy aisle. I finally decided to approach her. I tapped her on her shoulder.

She turned around and all I saw was sadness in her eyes. I asked her, "What are you doing here?"

She says, "I want Ella to be able to eat whatever she wants when she gets back, I doubt they're feeding her barely anything."

Marina seems to think that's the end of the conversation because she turns around and goes to the checkout with her items. I shake my head and go back to our house. I shouldn't have thought I could have been able to actually talk to someone about their emotions.

With one week left, John goes into full-on planning mode. He decides it's best if we distract the Mogs while a few people go in to get Ella. John volunteers himself to go, but everyone turns him down, saying that they need him to help with Setrakus if he shows up.

Marina volunteers to go, which seems to surprise everybody for some reason. After Marina volunteers, so does Nine and Six. Everyone weighs the pros and cons, and it's decided that Marina and Nine will retrieve Ella.

With two days left, it's obvious everyone is on edge. Lots of people have heated debates about their plans and how they should change them, but John remains confident in their original plan.

Everyone has been arguing except Marina. She usually is nowhere to be found. Whenever she is found, she speaks as little as possible, even to Six and Nine.

* * *

Marina's POV

Sure, everybody loves Ella, but I feel as if I bonded with her. I feel like we know each other more than the others, I just want Ella back.

That's why I volunteered to go and get her, nothing is going to stop me from getting Ella back. When we had decided that Nine and I would go, I almost smiled. Ella has been keeping me alive, but I also wouldn't be here without Nine, now I don't know what I would do without either of them.

I try to occupy my time by going for a walk. I think about what it would be like to be just a normal human. I wish I had a regular human life, but then, I probably wouldn't have ever known Eight, Ella, Nine, or any of the others.

I sit on a park bench and watch the people go by. I see an elderly couple holding hands as they meander throughout the streets, stopping to say hi to a child in a stroller. I don't shed any tears as I think about how that could have been Eight and me. I quickly stand up, knowing that if I stay any longer, I'll cry again.

I head back to our house and walk straight to my room, not taking notice of anyone around me. I sit on my bed and close eyes. Eight is sitting across from me on my bed. I smile. He mouths something, but I can't make out what he's saying.

I study his lips as he says what seems to be the same thing again. He says it one more time and it's clear to me he's saying, "Be safe."

I say, "I will."

Eight smiles and I open my eyes again. I need to stop doing that, I'm obviously just making stuff up in my mind to make losing Eight easier. It doesn't make it any easier for me, though.

I hear a knock on my door and say, "Come in."

Nine walks in and sits down on my bed where Eight just was.

He asks me, "Are you sure you can handle this? If not, Six and I can go get Ella."

I shake my head and stand up. I need to save Ella, I would never forgive myself if something happened to her and I wasn't there to save her. I have to save Ella, no question about it.

Nine says, "Marina, I don't want you to push yourself too far, I don't want you to get hurt."

I want to smile at Nine's show of affection, he never seems to care about what happens to anyone. I say, "I'll be fine."

Nine nods his head and stands up. He walks towards the door and opens it. He hesitates and turns around and says, "Get some rest, we've got a rescue mission tomorrow."

I nod and he leaves. I sit back down on the bed and sigh. Tomorrow, everything will be better, Ella will be here. I can't wait to see Ella again, to hear her voice, to hug her tiny body. Once we get Ella back, I'm not going to let her out of my sight for a long time.

* * *

Nine's POV

I snap awake to a loud sound. I can't tell what it was, so I quickly go downstairs to check it out. I hear someone in the kitchen, so I get into a fighting stance and enter with caution.

I relax quickly when I see Marina picking up pots and pans, that were left here,that are on the floor. I go over to her and help her put them back into the cupboard.

I ask her, "What are you doing up so early? Last time you were up earlier than me…" I trail off, not wanting to finish that sentence. Last time she was up earlier than me, she was prepared to kill herself.

Marina shakes her head and says, "I was going to make breakfast, I want everyone to be at full strength for this mission, I don't want a single thing to go wrong."

I nod in understanding and help Marina prepare food for everyone. We seem to move in sync, we have gotten to know each other better instead of me just knowing her as the healer. I set the table and start to dig in.

Marina sits down and drinks some of her smoothie. I leave as John and Sarah are walking into the kitchen. I go to my room and get changed for the day. I head to our garage and start stocking our bus full of weapons, knowing that the humans tagging along will probably find some use for them.

Once I'm done packing up the bus, I head back inside to see everyone going over the plan one more time. John mentions the part about Marina and me going to get Ella, if I'm there, I can keep both of them safe.

Everyone is silent on the ride to what we think is some sort of Mog-base. Once we get there, we all watch as a huge ship comes into view. I wonder if civilians are seeing this too, it's too big to miss.

I try not to focus on that, I have to focus on the task at hand, get in, get Ella, and get out. Adam says that Five will disable the shield in two minutes. Adam says we won't have long, but they are all going to be distracting the Mogs if they find out we have broken into their system.

When the two minutes are up, Marina gets on my back and I use my super speed to get us onto the ship without notice by sneaking through one of the few windows on the ship. Marina looks at the map Adam gave her and guides me through the hallways quickly.

We easily reach Ella's room, but there is a guard planted outside her door. I set Marina on the ground and rush to the Mog, grabbing his head and snapping his neck, turning him to dust. Marina joins me as we see the red light by the door go green, a sign that Adam effectively hacked into the Mogs' system.

Marina opens the door and rushes inside to see three more Mogs and a pale, unconscious Ella. One of the Mogs charges for us and I push Marina behind me. I grab the Mog and throw him into

the wall. Another one comes at me and I grab the sword from his hand, quickly slicing his throat.

I go to the one I threw into the wall and stab him in his heart. I turn around and see the last Mog holding Ella against his body, he knows we won't hurt him if there's a chance we'll hurt Ella.

I notice the sudden drop in temperature and turn to see Marina, extending her hand towards the Mog and Ella. She pushes her hand forward and an icicle seems to shoot out of it, right above Ella's head and into the Mog's neck. I take the sword out of the other Mog and stick it in the third one's head for good measure.

All of a sudden, alarms start to blare, they definitely know we are here now.

Marina takes Ella into her arms and heals her quickly. She moves Ella towards me, and I pick her up and say, "Let's go."

Marina says, "I'll slow you down, you take Ella to safety, I'll meet you at the bus."

I shake my head and say, "I'm not leaving you in this place."

Her eyes get extremely cold as she says, "Take Ella now, Nine."

I know I'd only waste more time arguing, so I hurry back to the bus, where Adam and Malcolm are still there, trying to do something with the computer. I set Ella down and tell them, "If anything happens to her I'll kill you both."

I race back into the Mog ship, not even stopping to help John and the others fight an army of Mogs. I'm running faster than I ever have before as I find Marina, standing over a dead Mog. She turns to see me and shouts, "Duck!"

I hit the floor fast and look up to see an icicle shoot past me and impale a Mog. I stand up and shout over the alarms, "Let's get out of here."

Marina asks, "Where's Ella?"

"Safe," is all I say, which seems to be enough for her right now. I turn around and she hops on my back. I run back towards the bus. I drop off Marina and see that the others only have a few Mogs left, so I stay with her.

Marina rushes to Ella and tries to wake her up. Marina lifts her up and rests Ella's head on her lap. Marina strokes her hair and whispers softly into Ella's ear. Ella stirs and sits up.

Marina lets out a sigh of relief as Ella hugs her. Ella can't see it but I can, I can see the tear that rolls down Marina's cheek. I'm just glad this time it's a tear of happiness and not one of sadness.


	4. Smiles

**Sorry this part is shorter than the others, but I didn't know how to extend it, and I didn't want to over-sell it. I'm pretty sure I'll just do one more part after this, then I'll be done with this story! I hope you guys like it, please tell me what you think.**

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Marina's POV

I turn over in my bed and see Ella. I close my eyes, and Eight is taking her place. He is looking straight at me, with confusion on his face. I open my eyes again and see Ella. I smile, ever since we got Ella back, I focused all of my energy into her and training. I'm going to make sure Ella gets to live a long, happy life.

I look at the clock and sigh. It's four in the morning and I'm already up. It's hard to find an escape when you just want to leave, but having Ella back helps. Nine told me that if I can't live for myself, then I need to live for something, someone. I've decided I'm going to live for Ella.

Sure, I could have lived to kill mogs, but maybe this way I can find peace, maybe I can try focusing my energy on something more positive.

I asked Nine not to tell anyone about the night on the roof, not even Ella, and he promised me he wouldn't. I take the covers off of me to go and see him. He's probably sleeping, but I can't fall asleep if every time I close my eyes I see Eight.

I slowly get up from the bed, careful not to wake Ella. I walk out of the room and gently close the door. I walk up to Nine's door, wondering if I should open it. I try to quietly open the door, but it squeaks and Nine snaps awake. I walk in quickly and close the door, then I put my hands up and say, "It's just me."

Nine falls back onto his bed and says, "You have to stop doing that to me, I'm a very light sleeper."

I walk over to Nine's bed and sit down on it, crossing my legs. I notice that he has sweated through his muscle shirt. I ask him, "Are you alright?"

He shrugs and says, "Just the regular nightmares. What about you, why are you up?"

I say, "I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep."

He shoots me a look and I say, "Every time I close my eyes I see Eight."

Nine nods and sits up. He says, "I used to see Sandor all the time, but it gets better with time."

I sigh and ask, "How long did it take?"

Nine says, "I don't think I'll ever stop seeing Sandor. I still see him whenever something reminds me of him. Although I'm not as sad anymore when I see him, more like grateful for the time I did get with him. It always inspires me more everytime I see him, and he's one of the things that keeps me going."

We sit in silence for a while. Nine has been there for me since Eight, and I seem like I'm such a burden to him. I wake him up at weird times, and I'm probably coming off as annoying.

Nine asks, "Why that face? That's your 'I'm not worth anything' face, why that face?"

I shrug my shoulders and say, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Nine shakes his head and points his finger at me. "Don't you give me that," he says, "no way. Marina, listen to me." Nine grabs my face in his hands and says, "You are the best person I know. You care more than anyone I've ever met. You know how to make people feel at ease, and you are extremely compassionate. So none of this I'm-not-worth-it crap, got it?"

I nod my head and smile, a real smile. It seems as if I've been having more of those lately. Nine lets go of my face right as the door opens. We both snap our heads and see Ella. I let out a breath and Ella asks, "I'm not catching you guys almost in the act, am I?"

We both let out a little laugh and I say, "Come here."

Ella sits down between us, and I put my arms around her and give her a squeeze. I ask, "What are you doing up so early?"

Ella says, "I had a dream that you were going to jump off of a building, and I was so scared, I woke up."

I say, "I'm not going anywhere, so, go get changed out of your pajamas, then we'll eat some breakfast."

Ella nods and retreats out of the room. Once the door is shut, I shove Nine. I whisper-scream, "What the hell Nine? You told her!"

Nine shakes his head and say, "I did not, maybe it has something to do with her legacy." I ease up and he says, "Or maybe she's just worried about you."

I say, "I'm fine." Nine looks at me and I say, "What? I am fine." I get up and say, "I'm going to go make Ella breakfast, see you later."

Ella's POV

I close the door and press my ear against it. I hear Marina say, "What the hell Nine? You told her!"

Nine says, "I did not, maybe it has something to do with her legacy." My legacy? Why are they talking about that? "Or maybe she's just worried about you.", Nine says. They are obviously talking about me. Why should I be worried about Marina? I know she's still sad over Eight's death, but she told me she was dealing with it.

I hear Marina say next, "I'm fine. What? I am fine." I hear someone stand up and I walk quickly back to the room I share with Marina. I find a t-shirt and shorts to wear for the day.

I head into the kitchen and see Marina chopping up some peppers. She looks up at me and smiles. Marina seems okay to me. It seems as if she's always smiling when I see her.

Marina says, "I'm making omelets, ham and cheese, right?"

I smile and nod. Marina continues to chop up various things to put into her omelet. I sit down on a stool next to the counter. I ask Marina, "Is everything okay with you?"

Marina looks up and shoots me a puzzled look. She asks me, "Why wouldn't it be?"

I say, "I heard you telling Nine you were fine, I can tell you were lying, Marina."

Marina plasters a smile on her face and says, "I am happier now that you're back."

I say, "I want you to be as happy as you were when we first met Six."

Marina grabs my hand and says, "Thanks, Ella, but I promise, I'm getting better now that you are here."

It seems sincere. Marina didn't say she was okay, she said she is getting better. I say, "I'm glad you are getting better." I smile and notice the corners of Marina's lips turn upwards. It is a small smile, but it is a smile.


	5. Goodbye

**Sorry this took so long, but we are finally at the end. This part isn't all that long, but I hope you like it! Please leave a review to tell me what you thought about this story. Enjoy!**

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Marina's POV

I sit down with the bowl of popcorn. I set the bowl in Ella's lap, and she starts to eat. Nine sits down on the other side of Ella after he starts the movie.

 _I'm glad we're all here_ , Ella says telepathically.

 _Me too_ , I say back, _I'm really happy you're back with us._

 _Nine told me you risked your life for mine._

 _I'm guessing that Nine isn't in on this telepathic conversation?_

 _You would be correct._

 _That's nice, just some you and me time._

I hear Ella sigh next to me then say, _Stop avoiding the conversation, why did you risk your life for me?_

 _You were unconscious so let me tell you what happened. Nine may have seen it a different way, but here is what was going on inside of my head when we went to rescue you._

I continue, _Once the alarms started blaring, I healed the worst of your injuries. Nine was ready to go, but I just wanted you to be safe. Nine was carrying you and I knew that if I ran alongside Nine I would only slow him down, putting you at risk. I figured Nine would come back to get me, but I wouldn't, I couldn't risk you, Ella._

Ella asks, _How did you know Nine was going to come back and get you out of there?_

 _I didn't,_ I answer truthfully, _I didn't know for sure, but I wasn't going to risk your safety. I will never put anything or anyone over you, believe me when I say that, Ella._

 _I do,_ she says, _I want you to know that I won't ever put anyone above you._

 _Well, I hope that you might meet someone and fall in love someday._

 _I'll always love you more, though,_ Ella says.

I put my arm around Ella and bring her closer to my body.

Nine asks, "Are you two even paying attention?"

Ella and I look at him and he says, "It's like you two were in your own little world."

Ella and I exchange glances and Nine shouts, "You two were having a telepathic conversation, weren't you?"

"No, we are just trying to watch the movie, now stop talking," Ella says.

The three of us sit in silence, watching the movie. I don't really pay any attention. I look over at Ella, I'm so glad that she is safe, I will always protect her.

Next, I shift my gaze to Nine. He helped me through everything, he was always there for me. Nine is the best friend I could have.

I try to pay attention to the rest of the movie because I know Ella and Nine wanted to see it. I find myself zoning out, thinking about Eight.

Once the movie is over I say, "I think I'm going to go upstairs."

Nine and Ella don't say anything, I think they have become better at realizing when I need space.

I walk upstairs to my bedroom. I sit on my bed with my legs crossed and close my eyes. Eight is sitting across from me and I say, "Eight, I love you, and I always will."

He smiles and nods and says, "I will always love you too, Marina."

I say, "I wish I could spend the rest of my days with you, but I can't. You're dead, and I need to live my life. I want to be happy, and I think I'm almost there. I just need to do one thing first."

Eight asks, "What is that?"

"I need to let you go."

I don't want Eight to leave me, but I will never move on with him constantly here.

Eight nods and says, "I understand, and I want you to be happy, Marina."

I say, "Goodbye."

I open my eyes and Eight is gone. Nine is standing in the doorway, and I let a few tears slide down my cheeks.

Nine walks over to me and says, "Marina, it's going to be okay."

I nod and he rubs soothing circles on my back. We sit like that for a while, and I let him comfort me.

This time feels different than the other times he has helped me, this time, it feels like it actually worked. He has helped me short-termbefore, but now I think I'm finally better. This might be one of the last times Nine holds me in his arms, so I try to remember it in as great detail as I can.

Nine asks, "Are you feeling any better?"

I nod my head and say, "Yes."

Nine says, "How about I order some pizza?"

"That would be great," I say.

Nine walks out of the room and I lay back on my bed. When I close my eyes, Eight isn't there anymore. It may look to me like I'm all alone, but I know I'm surrounded with people who care about me, even if I can't see them.


End file.
